"You cannot hinder someone's free will, that's the first law of the Universe, no matter what the decision."- E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly
•••
Pulling in a deep breath, Bird reached out and pressed the doorbell button.
Leaning forward she listened for the chime; but there was silence.
"Damn thing." She muttered under her breath.
Even after all the money they'd spent to have the old brownstone restored and brought up to code; there were still things that didn't work properly in the old house.
The doorbell just happened to be one of those.
With another breath of the crisp morning air pulled in between her teeth, Bird raised her hand and knocked loudly on the door.
"Starling?" Harvey had an unsure expression on his face when he saw who was knocking at his door so early in the morning.
"Doorbell went out again, huh?" She questioned.
With a slow nod he answered, "It works half the time."
"What are you doing here?" He questioned.
"May I come in?"
Stepping to the side, he motioned for her to come in from the cold weather. Once she was inside the house, he asked, "Come to threaten me again?"
"Really?" Her eyebrows raised, "I wasn't threatening you, Harvey. Plus, you started it. You threatened to tell GCPD about my involvement in Fat Lenny's crew being wiped out. I simply pointed out that it wouldn't be the smart choice to make considering the repercussions would affect you as well."
"How mafia-esque you are in your reasoning." Harvey cocked his head to the side before questioning, "Or are you still pretending that's not a part of your life anymore?"
Bird let out a small laugh.
Quiet; but unhinged enough to make his posture stiffen.
He never knew what to expect with her; it used to be something that drew him to her.
Not it just made it feel like the floor he was standing on was rigged with a trap door.
"I'm not here to fight with you." Bird insisted, "I just came by to pick up a few of my things I left here."
"This early in the morning?" He asked. Still seeming suspicious of her motives.
"I have a day job too now, remember?" She pointed out, "Plus, I'm meeting a friend for breakfast."
"Let me guess..." He pretended to really give it some thought before asking, "Our esteemed new Mayor?"
"Is my stuff still here or not?"
"Third floor." He called over his shoulder as he headed for the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.
Bird lingered in the entryway a little longer. Peeking into the living room to see how different the interior of the house looked before making her way up the stairs.
To her surprise the house didn't look all that different from how she remembered it. It even smelled the same.
She wasn't sure what she expected; nothing too drastic, but she'd still expected it to look different.
She stopped off at the second floor, looking through the open doors of the room as she crossed through the hallway.
That was something they'd never agreed on. She wanted to keep door shut and he preferred them open.
She saw he'd turned one of the spare rooms into a home office in her absence.
In fact, it was the very room the real estate agent had pointed out with a bright smile would make a great nursery.
Bird remembered feeling like she could have crawled from her very skin at that point.
She struggled to keep plants alive. Though, she had done a remarkable job with the potted bamboo plant Harvey had given her, it was still going strong somehow.
And he lived with a deep-seated fear of turning into his father. Being abusive.
Which Bird had assured him many times that he wasn't going to be like his father, but the truth was that he did have a violent side to him. A darkness he would keep buried until it exploded on those around him rather than try and face it.
Needless to say, having kids wasn't something that either of them had seen in their future.
She couldn't help but laugh under her breath as she remembered the look on their real estate agents face when she'd brought up a nursery and both Bird and Harvey went completely silent on her.
The stutter of her voice when she tried to back-track into pointing out it was also the perfect space for a cozy home office.
The trip down memory lane ended when she reached the third floor, which was an open floor plan.
She couldn't remember what the agent had tried to say they could use it for, but it had mainly turned into a storage space.
-And possibly the only spot in the house that looked drastically different from when she lived there.
There were boxes she didn't recall being stacked against the walls and decorations for every holiday one could think of.
Since when did he decorate for the holidays?
Shaking her head she realized maybe it was something he enjoyed but didn't bother with then they were together because she wasn't the most festive person.
Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she got to work locating her belongings in the mess and clutter.
Boxes she'd promised she'd be back for.
And she had gotten most of her things from the house when their relationship ended. The rest she didn't care if he threw away or gave to charity.
Thankfully he hadn't done either.
Harvey had held onto them in case she came back for what she'd left behind.
Kneeling down she opened the flaps from on the boxes and pushed the random items aside until she found the single item she'd made the trip for.
A picture. In a simple silver frame. Black and white.
A picture of her mother, Lily.
As far as she knew it was the only picture that existed of her. And even though it was taken at least twenty years ago, anyone could still place her by it.
"Coffee?" Harvey offered once Bird stepped off the last stair onto the first floor.
The resentment was gone from his tone.
He seemed calmer now. Happier even.
Hot and cold; that's always how things were with him.
"No, thanks." Bird declined, "I got what I needed, so I'll get out of your hair."
His eyes fell to the picture frame in her hand.
Immediately he knew what it was.
He'd find her looking at it from time to time,before they knew Lily was still alive.
Before she'd showed back up and made Bird regret ever wishing to meet the woman who'd given her life.
"What's going on?" He questioned. Looking almost concerned.
"Nothing." Bird dismissed, "I just... I saw someone the other day and they looked like her and-"
"You think she's alive?" He couldn't hide the shock on his face, "Or more like she was brought back to life?"
"I don't know." Bird shrugged.
It was more than she'd told anyone else about it; even Jim.
More than she'd intended on telling anyone, but that's how it was with Harvey, he'd get her to say more than she meant to by simply being in her presence.
"Probably not, right?" She tried to brush it off and lighten the mood with a laugh.
"I don't know." Harvey answered sincerely.
It wasn't as though coming back from the dead was impossible in a city like Gotham and Lilith Wayne had died during the time Strange was doing his experiments at Indian Hill.
"You met her. You know what she looks like, so if you happen to see her or someone that looks like it could be her, keep your distance but call me." Bird instructed, "And don't tell anyone about this. Please?"
His eyes dropped down to the cup of coffee in his hand and then back up to meet her expectant gaze.
"Who am I going to tell?" He questioned.
His expression showing she was getting what she wanted.
That was always an issue for him. He couldn't tell her no; even when he knew he should.
•••
"Good morning, Bird." Oswald greeted with a wide smile as Bird entered the dining room in the mansion that had belonged to his father.
"Oswald." Bird forced a smile across her lips to greet him back.
She was caught off guard when he scrambled to his feet from where he'd been sitting at the head of the table went over to her. Taking both her hands in his, he leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
When she leaned back to look at him she was struck by how widely he was smiling. How genuinely happy he was.
Like the sun that morning wasn't shining from the sky; but rather inside of his very soul.
Bird had thought he'd invited her to breakfast to see if she knew anything about how the ambulance carrying Butch Gilzean had been stalled on the way to the hospital and he'd since disappeared.
"You seem... happy." Bird commented. Looking down as he pulled her over to the table and instructed her to have a seat.
"What a beautiful morning, isn't it, Bird?" Oswald beamed as he took his own seat and motioned around them, "You know, they say that fortune favors the brave."
When his maid, Olga entered the room with a tray of hot food for them and started setting it out on the table Oswald directed his attention at her and asked, "Do they have a saying for that in your country, Olga?"
Setting a plate piled high with still sizzling bacon down, Olga answered his question in Russian.
Neither Bird nor Oswald understood.
Oswald laughed, "I don't know what you're saying."
As she added an assortment of jams and jellies to the table, Olga spoke something else in her mother tongue and Oswald shook his head, still no closer to understanding what she was saying, "It's not important." He sighed.
"What is important is that I have found someone." Oswald announced, "And what good is love if it's one-sided?"
Bird's eyes widened as she heard him.
Reaching forward she picked up her glass of orange juice and downed it like it was cold water and she was dying of thirst.
"I have no choice but to confess my feelings to Ed." Oswald finally announced to both Bird and Olga.
"No." Bird closed her eyes and said the word just low enough he was unable to hear.
"Bird." Oswald looked at her, his eyebrows lowering at the expression on her face.
Maybe the orange juice was sour tasting and not sweet enough, he considered and and shrugged it off.
"You are my dearest friend and I wanted you to know that I'm going to tell Ed how I feel." He proudly said.
Bird stared down at the all the food on the table, none of it did she have an appetite for any longer.
She didn't trust Edward Nygma. She didn't like him; in fact she was pretty sure she hated him and cursed the days when she considered him a friend.
And now Oswald was in love with him?
She opened her mouth but no sound came out.
Oswald, so wrapped up in his own thoughts, continued, "My mother used to tell me that life only gives you one true love, Oswald. You find it - run to it."
Smiling and wishing his mother was still around to see how happy Ed made him, Oswald announced to them both, "So that is what I'm going to do."
"I'm also going to enroll you in an ESL program." Oswald told Olga, "You really should learn the language if you're going to work here."
Seeming about as thrilled at the news of his new found love as Bird was, Olga picked up the serving tray and left the room.
Oswald took a drink of his own orange juice and was about to comment that it tasted fine to him when he realized Bird hadn't said anything.
"You're being awfully quiet." He stated.
"Oswald." Bird pulled in a breath, "You can't."
"I can't what?"
"This..." She stammered, "This is such a bad idea. Nygma can't be trusted, don't you see that? He -he tricked Butch into that attack against you and-"
"Ed explained everything to me." He swore, "I thought you'd be happy for me. That I've finally found someone. MY someone."
"He explained everything to you?" Bird asked, "I got attacked that night too-"
"Only to keep you from interfering-"
"Yeah!" She yelled, "Because I would have. If someone points a weapon at you I'm going to interfere and do what I can to keep you safe. That's caring about someone. That's love."
Her face was growing redder by the second as she added, "You act like what he put together was some genius plan, but you really could have died. What if Butch had used a different gun than the one Nygma gave him? What if-"
"Why is it so difficult for you to be happy for me?" He questioned as if there were no logic or truth to her words.
"Oh my god." Bird rubbed her forehead, "Oswald, if it were literally any other person in Gotham, I'd be so happy for you, but I can't do this. I can't sit here and plaster on a fake smile and pretend to be thrilled for you. This is going to end badly, I feel it in my bones."
His jaw tensed. Teeth gritted together.
"You don't think he loves me back?" Oswald finally asked.
"I don't know that he's even capable of it!" She yelled.
"Some would say the same about us." He pointed out.
"Oswald, please. Think this over. Even if Nygma does feel the same -my god, the last person he claimed to love ended up dead by his hand!" Getting to her feet, she threw her cloth napkin down on her empty plate, "Hands. Literally dead by his hands. He strangled her."
"I'm well aware-"
"Then what is wrong with you?" Bird demanded to know, "How do you think you can have a relationship with someone who's capable of killing the things they claim to love?"
"You don't love him." Bird said.
Spoken in tone as if she were scolding a child.
"I know how I feel!" Oswald's voice finally raised and he lurched to his feet so fast the chair he'd been sitting in fell to the floor behind him.
"That's just it." Bird cried out, "You don't! How many times in the past did you try to tell me that you felt that way about me? Oswald, I'm not trying to hurt you -but this wouldn't be the first time you confused friendship with something more."
"I think we're a little past you trying not to hurt me, Bird." Oswald growled.
How dare she, he thought to himself, how dare she try and bring him down about something that just had him feeling as if were floating on clouds.
"Ed has been there for me in ways that no one else has-"
He didn't know why he was even bothering to explain himself to her, especially when she wouldn't let him talk.
"Are you kidding me?" She shouted so loud her voice bounced back from the walls and vaulted ceilings; physically hurting her own ears, "What about me?"
"What about you?" Oswald hurled back, "You who never thought I was good enough."
Bird's jaw dropped as if he'd slapped her across the face.
In all honesty, that act would have hurt much less than his words.
"Why, Bird?" He demanded to know, "Why is it that you get to find love and happiness; but not me?"
"All I want is for you to be happy. Oswald, that is all I've ever wanted for you-"
"But that isn't true, is it?" He blinked rapidly. Emotion burning at his eyes.
Though he couldn't tell if it was his heart breaking or the kind of rage that burns so deeply if brings you to tears.
For years he'd been convinced that she was this one true love his mother tell him about.
He'd watch her like she was the center of his world; and for so long she was.
She made him feel things he didn't know he'd been capable of.
And he'd loved her.
But not in the way he'd fallen for and now loved Ed.
No, this was new. When he thought of Ed he felt like the sun was only shining upon him.
Happy. Giddy even.
The sort of love one reads about in the books.
Where you don't need to eat; because your heart is so full you want nothing else.
You don't even want to sleep because you'd rather be awake to see the face of the person you love above all else.
Until Ed he didn't even know that he could feel love that way light, fluffy and warm.
It had never been like that with Bird.
No, the way he'd felt about her was full of darkness. The kind where even he'd known it was wrong.
It was full of desperation and left him feeling cold and hollow.
He remembered the nights of sneaking into her apartment when she'd been asleep. Walking around in her footsteps and touching everything she'd touched; bottles of perfumes, clothes and sometimes even utensils out on the counter in the kitchen.
Finding near empty bottles of alcohol he'd bring to his mouth only for sake of his lips touching something hers had.
He'd stand at the side of her bed for hours at a time just watching her sleep.
Even occasionally touching her face or her hair. Trailing his fingers over her skin and feeling the electricity beneath them.
He wanted her so close it felt like he could have cut her open and crawled inside.
Feelings so strong at times he couldn't tell if he really loved her or hated her.
But he'd always came back to the first option.
Love. It was love; even if it was wrong and brought out the worst parts of him.
He remembered the times he'd worked up the courage to come clean to her; to tell her how he felt and she'd shush him before he said too much.
To the point of physically putting her hand over his mouth to hold the words in because once something is said it can't ever really be taken back.
Her urgency to dismiss the time he'd kissed her and blame it on too much champagne.
He knew he wasn't a good person, but he'd spent so long viewing Bird as if she were on a pedestal.
But the truth was that she wasn't any better than he was. In some ways, he believed, she was worse.
Not long after they'd first met, she'd asked him if he had friends and when he'd told her no -she'd said good. That if he didn't have anyone else then he'd never leave her.
People will often tell you who they really are; and she did, very early on.
"You're a terrible person, Bird." He said with a harsh sniffle as he rubbed the end of his nose.
"What?" She asked. Eyes wide in shock.
She looked to be on the verge of laughing which only enraged him more.
"You knew-" He pointed a shaky finger in her direction, "You knew how much I cared about you all of these years and you didn't care. Not so long as I continued to adore you. That's what you really wanted. To keep me waiting in the background, always good enough to worship the ground you walked on but never actually good enough for you."
"I may be a terrible person, but you're delusional." Bird accused, "In what world have I ever, even once, treated you like weren't good enough? I have saved your life more times that I can count. It wasn't all that long ago that I took a bullet for you and nearly died."
Now it wasn't just his eyes that were red rimmed.
She felt like someone was holding a lit match to her own.
"The truth, Oswald, is that I picked you time and time again. I chose you over everyone else-" She started.
"Liar!" He shouted. His hands balled up in fists at his sides. His entire frame trembling with restraint.
He wanted to hurt her. Hurt her just as badly as he felt she'd hurt him.
"I picked you over my family, over Fish -I even picked you over Harvey when we were together." She argued.
"In what world?" He scoffed, "You got engaged!"
"The night he proposed to me. The first time anyways." She recalled, "He wanted to leave Gotham, just the two of us and I couldn't because I couldn't leave you." A tear rolled down her cheek, "He started to give me a choice of him or you and I told him he didn't want to do that -because he wouldn't like my answer."
"But that's not good enough, is it?" Bird's voice cracked down the middle, like a tree zapped by lightening "The fact that I loved you more than everyone else didn't matter because I couldn't love you in the way you wanted me to."
"I wish you'd just left that night." Oswald bellowed before his brain had even caught up with his mouth, "Or never came back when you did go."
"Then maybe I should have just died the night I gave my life to save yours." Her voice lowered to a calmer tone.
More heart broken than angry now.
"Maybe you should have." He echoed.
His eyes cold. Voice lowered down to an indoor tone once more.
Oswald leaned forward, resting his hands on the table and hung his head.
He wasn't sure why he said it, he wasn't even really sure if he meant it.
Bird wasn't entirely aware of her actions as she picked up the fork from her place setting and stabbed it's prongs deep into Oswald's hand as he rested on the table.
With a cry of pain he jerked his hand up and stared at it on shock as the utensil still protruded from his flesh. Lines of red starting to run from the wound and onto the white table cloth.
He pulled the fork from his hand and dropped it to the floor before his eyes locked with hers.
There wasn't an ounce of remorse in their brown hues.
"I hope Edward Nygma rips your still beating heart from your chest and stomps on it right in front of you." Bird coldly said. Tone void of emotion, "You deserve nothing less."
His hurt and shocked expression morphed into something else.
His vision blurred around the edges; colors turning red with rage.
Bird had only made it a few steps past him when he roughly grabbed her arm and jerked her back so fast her side slammed into the edge of the table.
With a yelp of pain she went down, knocking the place setting, some plates and silverware down with her.
Within seconds she'd kicked Oswald's legs out from under him and brought him down with her.
Hitting. Scratching.
They rolled around on the floor like a pair of children fighting over a broken toy on the playground.
Bird ended up on top again, dodged his attempt to break a plate against the side of her head, reared up and punched him in the face.
The stones in one of her rings immediately split his skin open and blood beaded to the surface.
The ongoing power struggle ended with him back on top. Straddling her squirming body on the hardwood floor.
Only the fight had escalated. No longer was it a knock-down, drag-out fight.
Not when he pressed a knife to her throat.
One he'd managed to get his hands on from the scattered mess on the floor.
Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him. Her breathing was heavy, chest rising and falling rapidly as he hovered over her.
She could feel the blade against her skin. The warm droplets of blood falling from his face onto her own skin.
"Do it." Bird whispered between shallow gasps
Oswald's mouth hung open. Fighting for air as he stared at his best friend. Her face bruised and bloody.
His eyes went to the sharp blade at her neck, following the gleam of the metal edge down the blade and over the handle to where he saw it was his own hand holding it.
In truth he didn't even remember even grabbing the weapon.
Slowly he raised up and leaned back. A grimace on his face when his knee on his bad leg buckled against the hard floor as he still straddled her.
Oswald started to move his arm, pull the knife away from her throat but she grabbed his arm and angled the blade pointing down right over her heart and said through her gritted teeth, "If you really hate me that much -then just do it. Kill me and get it over with."
A tear fell from his eye, the salt water mixing with the blood on his cheek.
He jerked his arm away from her grip. Tossed the knife across the room and got off of her.
Falling to the floor, he laid at her side. Both of them silently staring up to the ceiling; the only other sound was their breathing.
"Bird-" He finally broke the silence. Cleared his throat.
"Don't." She cut him off, "If you're going to say sorry, don't."
•••
Bird's secretary Charmaine got off the elevator on the fifth level of the parking garage and looked around until she spotted the familiar town car.
It was just moments before that her boss had called and asked her to meet her in the garage.
Opening up the passenger side door, Charmaine got in and questioned, "What happened to your driver?"
Bird had kicked him out outside of Oswald's mansion and drove off, but she didn't share that with her secretary.
"Oh my..." Charmaine gasped, "Oh my god! What happened to you?"
"I got in a fight." Bird answered.
"Are you okay? Should I call someone?"
"I'm fine."
Charmaine bit her tongue at wanting to respond and tell her she didn't look fine.
"I need you to do me a favor." Bird began, "You remember that day I volunteered at the soup kitchen recently-"
"With the Mayor, yes." She nodded.
"The place was crawling with press. I need you to get every bit of footage from that day. Pictures and video." Bird explained as she reached behind the seat and picked up the picture frame from the floorboard, "I need to know if this woman was there."
"Sure." Charmaine nodded as she looked down at the picture and then did a double-take at her boss before commenting, "She looks like you."
"I look like her." Bird corrected, "That picture was taken twenty years or more ago, but she doesn't look all that different."
"Good genes." Charmaine offered up.
"Yeah, lucky me." Bird mumbled under her breath before turning to look at her secretary and adding, "I need this done immediately and no one can know."
"Got it." She looked back down at the picture frame, "I'll come up with something to tell the new stations and papers to get the footage from that day."
"Thank you." Bird said; her tone low as she turned her head and stared back in front of her.
Charmaine reached for the handle of the door and then paused. She wanted to say something else, but she wasn't sure what.
This hardly seemed like the situation to try cracking one of those 'I bet the other guy looks worse' jokes.
Nor was there any point in asking if Bird would be coming into the office that day. Clearly she wasn't.
There was nothing she could say or do to make her feel any better and she knew Bird didn't like people to pry.
So instead she opened the door and promised, "I'll get this taken care of."
It was several minutes later that Bird was still sitting there when her phone started to ring.
With a groan, she leaned between the front seats to grab her purse from the back and take out her phone.
She didn't recognize the number on the caller ID, but she answered it anyways.
"Hello?"
"Hey, B."
Bird dropped her head back against the leather headrest of the driver's seat.
"Barbara, look I'm really not in the mood-"
"This call is solely for your benefit." Barbara said as she raised her martini glass to her lips and took a sip.
"Is that so?" Bird scoffed.
"Tetch was back at The Siren's a couple days ago."
When Bird remained silent, Barbara smiled into the phone, "That got your attention, huh?"
"What did he want?" Bird questioned.
"To talk about Jim."
Bird waited for her to go on, but it was clear Barbara was going to make this conversation as painful as pulling teeth.
"What about him exactly?" Bird played into the game to get what she needed.
"Oh, you know. The usual stuff. Everything, really. Family stuff, GCPD... the women in his life." Barbara's voice lowered some, "He seemed especially interested in that."
"And what'd you tell him, B?" Bird asked using their share nickname from back when they were close.
"About how I'm still the love of Jim's life. How he cries himself to sleep every night over losing me."
"Naturally." Bird sighed, rubbing her forehead.
She could hear the grin in Barbara's voice.
"He already knew about you, so I just filled in the rest."
"The rest being...Lee?" Bird guessed.
"The most vanilla of Jim's choice in women? Little miss rebound from me?" Barbara laughed, "Of course."
"Anyways..." She continued, "He seemed interested on where you spend your Thursday mornings and seeing as how it's Thursday, I thought I'd give you a heads up. You know in case you wanted to skip town or something. I mean, I don't know what he's planning, but-"
"Why even bother telling me?" Bird cut her off.
"Hmm..." She hummed, drumming a finger on her chin, "Maybe because I remember how you were there for me when no one else was and I'm having a sentimental moment."
"Yeah, well, you'd be the first person I've talked to today feeling anything sentimental towards me." Bird replied.
"Ooh... dish, girl." Barbara leaned forward in her seat. Elbows propped up on the counter, "Trouble in paradise? Don't tell me you and Jim are on the outs?"
"Bye, B." Bird rolled her eyes, "Thanks for the heads up."
"Bye. Kisses." Barbara laughed, loudly planted a kiss on the speaker of the phone and then hung up.
Bird ended the call on her end and called Jim.
No answer.
Instead of leaving a voicemail she hung up and texted him to call her back asap.
Then she did something she never planned on doing and called Lee to pass courtesy Barbara had done for her.
No answer.
Bird started the car, but hesitated to shift into drive and leave.
The smart thing to do would be to just drive off. Not stop until she found Jim and they figured out what to do.
But apparently smart decisions were something she'd given up on the for day.
It wasn't smart to tell Harvey about her mom possibly being alive.
It certainly wasn't smart to get into a fight with Oswald.
It might not even be smart to believe what Barbara had told her.
She had no idea where Jim was or what he was doing. She could only guess he was too busy to take her call, but she knew that while she wasn't Lee's favorite person in the world -she was trying to stay on good terms with her and she would have answered the phone.
With the car still running, Bird took her phone out again and called Lee's number. Again no answer.
Picking another name from her contact list, she didn't count on getting an answer.
"Bullock." He answered.
"Hey, it's me." Bird said before getting straight to her reason of calling him, "I need to talk to Lee, is she in her office?"
"No..." He answered leaning forward at his desk, "She didn't show up this morning. What's going on?"
"Nothing good." She answered.
"You're telling me." Bullock glanced around and then lowered his voice from eavesdropping ears as he shared information he shouldn't, "A pair of newly weds jumped to their death their death over an hour ago and some kid just down the street said that Jim saved him from a speeding truck. Now we got a guy who's been hypnotized in lock up and all he'll say is he's got a message for Jim, where is he?"
"I don't know." Bird answered. Her heart started to pick up speed, "But you need to find him."
With that she hung up the phone and held her breath as she tried to make sense of what he'd just told her.
A married couple jumped to their deaths and just down the same street Jim saved a kid's life?
Maybe Tetch gave him a choice of only being able to save one?
Slowly exhaling, she realized what that meant.
Lee had already been taken and Tetch was coming for her next.
Jim, wherever he was, was still alive. He had to be because if this was about making choices then Tetch was going to make him choose between herself and Lee.
Bird knew what she had do.
Well, maybe not had to. But she knew what she was going to do.
Making another call from her phone, she bit down on the side of her tongue and listened until the trilling on the stopped and a familiar voice said, "Thought you weren't speaking to me because I shot Butch?"
"I'm not speaking to you for a lot of reasons." Bird grumbled, "But this is important."
Zsasz's forehead lined. Something was wrong. He could hear it in her voice.
The rushed urgency like each word might be the last.
"Where are you?" He demanded to know.
"The parking garage at work-"
"I'm on my way." He started for the door.
"Someone is trying to get revenge on Jim. Jervis Tetch." She explained, "They already got Lee Thompkins and I'm going to be next-"
"Bird!" Zsasz yelled into the phone when her end of the conversation was interrupted by the sounds of shattering glass.
Then the line went dead.
"So, we meet again." Jervis gave a smile and tipped his top hat to Bird as she struggled against the grip the Tweed's had on her. Her feet kicking and skittering on broken glass from the window of her car they'd busted to grab her,
All he got in response was an angry look from Bird as they bound her hands behind her back and carried her off towards the van they'd arrived in.
Jervis picked up her phone from the seat of the car and followed behind them.
Bird was forced to sit opposite from where Lee was sitting on the floor in the back of the large van.
One of the Tweeds drove them away while the other kept a gun pointed at the women.
Tetch sat down on the seat he'd put int he back of the van for himself and looked between the two brunettes.
"If I'm correct there's no reasons for introductions." Jervis stated, as he looked down to where he held Lee's phone in one hand and Bird's in the other, "Tell me, Bird. Any certain reason you've been trying to reach James' ex-fiance this morning?"
"Girl stuff." Bird gave a shrug and made it clear she wasn't interested in playing his games.
"Well, I for one am dying to see what happens next. Gordon should be figuring things out very soon. I wonder who he'll call to warn first?" Looking between them and growing almost giddy from excitement he teased, "That might be some foreshadowing for how the day will end."
Lee and Bird stared at once another in silence.
Several minutes into the extremely uncomfortable car ride, one of the phones rang.
"Looks like we have a winner." Jervis held up Bird's still ringing phone.
Before flipping it open and placing it to his ear.
"Bird, listen to me-" Jim frantically breathed into the phone as he rushed towards his car.
"I'm sorry, James. Bird can't come to the phone right now. Lee either for that matter... can I take a message?" Jervis replied.
Jim's pace slowed to a stop. His shaky breathing was the only sound left on his end of the call.
"No?" He continued to tease, "Good. Gotham Water and Power. Ten minutes."
"I need to know she's okay." Jim argued.
Jervis looked over to Bird in her bruised and somewhat bloody state, "She's seen better days, James."
Jim's brows furrowed. He had no idea what that was supposed to mean but he didn't like the sound of it.
"I want to talk to her. To know she's okay. Bird and Lee-"
"What you want means nothing to me." Jervis snapped, "Gotham Power and Light. Nine minutes. Tick-tock."
After hanging up on him. Jervis took a moment to compose himself before giving a smile in their direction and saying, "James sends his regards."
•••
"Listen to me." Lee pleaded with the Tweed brother who'd already secured a large cuff to one of Bird's ankles and was now knelt in front of her to do the same, "Tetch is a lunatic. He's going to get caught. The most you could hope for is a lifetime in prison. Don't do this."
"Dumfree?" The other brother called out from the door, "Let's see whats in the kitchen"
Once the Tweed were gone, Bird looked around the large bathroom she and Lee were chained up in together before commenting, "Nice place."
"Thanks." Lee breathed. Watching as Bird slid down the wall and sat on the floor.
"Did that-" She motioned to Bird's state, "Happen when they took you?"
"No." Bird shook her head, "I've just had an eventful day."
"Any ideas on how to get out of here?" Lee questioned.
"You're asking me?" Bird began, "It's your house."
"Yes, I'm asking you." Lee sat down on the side of the bathtub and added, "She; who I've seen take down an armed man faster than most of the cops in this city could. I'm asking you how do we get out of this?"
"You tell me." Bird cracked a smile, "She; who punched Edward Nygma in the face when he showed up at GCPD."
"You heard about that, huh?" Lee lowered her head, unable to stop the smile from spreading across her lips, "I just couldn't help myself."
"Heard about it?" Bird echoed, "I would have sent you flowers but I wouldn't want big bro getting jealous."
Raising her head, Lee looked over to where Bird seemed almost too content sitting there with a chain around her ankle and questioned, "Those two times you called me earlier. Tetch already had me and my phone, but you were trying to warn me. Weren't you?"
When Bird didn't answer, Lee said, "Thanks for trying."
Lee continued to watch her fellow captive as Bird sat still leaned against the wall, seeming like she was in no big hurry to go anywhere at all.
Blowing out an exasperated breath, she ran her fingers through her hair and looked around. Her eyes finally stopping on the mirror front medicine cabinet above the sink.
Lee eyed the closed bathroom door for a moment before going over to the cabinet where she began her search for something she could use to set them both free.
"Why'd you come back to Gotham?" Bird finally broke her silence.
Glancing over her shoulder, Lee asked, "What?"
"Why did you come back to Gotham?" Bird repeated her question; this time speaking slow and extra clear.
Turning around, Lee stated, "I didn't come back for Jim if that's what you're worried about-"
"I'm not worried about that." Bird was quick to argue, before nodding to the file in Lee's hands and pointing out it would be too flimsy to pick the lock. That she needed something smaller and sturdier.
"But seriously." Bird continued when Lee turned back around to find something else to use, "You and Mario could have moved anywhere and started a life there. Why come back to Gotham when you've already lost so much here?"
"Why did you come back?" Lee countered as she picked up a small manicure set from the shelf and looked at the various tools inside, "You could have started somewhere else too."
"No." Bird shook her head, "Everything I care about is here."
Walking over as far as the chained cuff around her ankle would let her go, Lee sat down on the floor across from Bird and gave a small shrug as she said, "You're right. I did lose so much here... but Mario got offered the position at Gotham General and I don't know..." Her voice trailed off. "Maybe I wanted to prove that this city didn't break me."
"This city breaks everyone." Bird simply stated.
"Give me that." She motioned to the manicure set in Lee's hand.
Pulling a metal cuticle pusher from the set she tried it bend it in her hands to make sure it was sturdy enough to trip the mechanism inside of the lock.
"Try this." Bird said handing it back to her, "I'll walk you through it."
The next few minutes passed in silence aside from Bird's instructions on how to pick the lock and the metal clanking as Lee tried, failed at first but in the end was able to release the lock.
As it clicked loose and the ankle cuff fell to the floor with a small noise, Lee stared down in amazement, "Oh my god, it worked!"
Bird gave her a smile and questioned, "What's your plan now?"
"You break free-" She held out the cuticle pusher to Bird and added, "We'll lure one of them in here. Hit him over the head with something and run."
"Negative."
"Wait -what?" Lee asked, her dark hair falling into her eyes as she shook the manicure tool in her hand which Bird wouldn't take.
"We'll lure one of them in here and knock them out. Sure." Bird agreed with the first part of the plan, "Then you take his gun and make a run for it. But be prepared Lee, if the other Tweed or Tetch comes after you -you're going to have to kill them."
"What are you talking about?"
With a sigh, Bird rubbed her forehead, "You're a doctor. I get it, the whole Hypocratic Oath thing. Do no harm; whatever. But in this situation is you or them. So I'm just telling you to be prepared."
"No." Lee cut her off, "Are you saying you're staying here?"
Bird didn't answer out loud, but nodded.
"No!" Lee exclaimed a little too loudly, "I'm not leaving you behind."
She thought back to the day of the children's hospital benefit gala.
How Jerome had taken them both hostage and how she was so panicked she truly thought she might have a heart-attack. Yet, Bird was calm -up until the point they started threatening to kill off the people she loved.
"You realize we could both die today, right?" Lee didn't know how to make the danger they were in any clearer. Her eyes darted over Bird's disheveled, bruised and slightly bloody state.
Maybe she hit her head, Lee considered, hard enough that she couldn't properly react to the situation they were in. After all, this was about as friendly as Bird had ever been with her too.
"We're getting out of this -together." Lee confidently stated as she knelt down in front of Bird and started trying to pick the lock on her ankle cuff.
"I'm staying here."
"But why?" Lee questioned. Too focused on the task at hand to look up as she spoke.
"Jim." Bird answered honestly, "Even if we both get out of here and make a run for it. There's no guarantee that they don't already have him or that he's going to show up at any minute. So I'm not going anywhere until I know he's safe."
"Bird-"
"Lee." Bird cut her off, "Go."
Finally looking up, her eyes locked with Bird's and she realized this wasn't some brave act that she was putting on.
She seemed mostly calm. Centered even.
She'd seen that look before -with Jim.
When they were together there were times she'd sworn Jim had never seemed more centered than when he was running straight into danger.
He'd try and deny it or blame it on the job at times and in the beginning she believed it; but the truth was that there was something inside of him that thrived on the darkness.
"Wow..." Lee let out a heavy breath with her words, "You and Jim really are made for each other."
Bird's eyes narrowed scrutinizingly at her; knowing that wasn't meant as any sort of compliment.
"My, my." Jervis shook his head as he opened the bathroom door to find Lee free of her restraints and looked to have just been in the process of freeing Bird as well, "You two have been busy."
Lee scrambled to her feet and Bird stood up slowly.
"I..." He let out a laugh and motioned between them, "I expected this to go the other way." His attention landing on Bird, "That you'd be the one trying to escape."
"Now if you'd both kindly join me in the dining room..." He took his time looking between them. Wondering which one meant more to James Gordon, he smiled at them again, "Our guest of honor will be here shortly."
•••